St. Mary's Church in Newcastle opened in August 1844, paid for largely through halfpenny subscriptions from the community of poor immigrants on Tyneside. The priest at the mission at Newcastle upon Tyne was William Riddell.[1] The stained glass in the Great East Window, Lady Chapel and Blessed Sacrament Chapel, were done by William Wailes in 1843 to designs provided by Pugin.
By decree of Pope Pius IX on 29 September 1850, the Catholic hierarchy was restored on a regular pattern to England and Wales. Much of what had been known as the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District became the new See of Hexham. Bishop William Hogarth was appointed to be the first bishop of the new diocese, and as such, required a church in which to place his seat or cathedra. St Mary's was chosen for this purpose and thus it gained the status of a cathedral church in 1850,[2] becoming the first cathedral in Newcastle, as the Anglican St. Nicholas' Cathedral didn't become a cathedral until 1882.
On 21 August 1860, the cathedral was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The name of the see was changed in 1861 to Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Since then, eleven further bishops have been installed in St Mary's as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
With a bequest from the estate of Elizabeth Dunn, in 1872 a tower and steeple designed by Dunn & Hansom were added.[3]
Present
The seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle was vacant after the death of the Right Reverend Kevin John Dunn in March 2008. He served in the post for almost four years, having been consecrated a Bishop and installed on the feast of St Bede the Venerable, 25 May 2004. Seamus Cunningham received his episcopal consecration on 20 March 2009 (feast of St. Cuthbert, the diocese's patron), at St. Mary's Cathedral. He is the thirteenth bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
On 21 April 2006 the incumbent Dean, the Reverend Michael Campion, officially left his appointment at the cathedral. He is succeeded by the Reverend Peter Leighton, formerly the Catholic Chaplain to the University of Durham. Under the careful guidance of the Reverend Peter Leighton, the cathedral has undergone a thorough period of renovation restoring much of the beauty of the original design. Phase one of the work was completed in September 2010 and phase two of the work, which included the installation of a new three-manual Kenneth Tickell organ of 46 stops, was completed in February 2013.[4]
In 2019, Canon Michael McCoy was appointed dean by Bishop Robert Byrne in succession to Father Dermott Donnelly (brother of TV presenter Declan Donnelly).[5] This was despite multiple issues on his record, including being "subject of safeguarding plans regarding boundaries relevant to working with older teenagers".[6] On 10 April 2021, McCoy was found dead: following an inquest, it was found that he had killed himself after being informed of historical sexual abuse allegations against him.[7]
On 22 January 2023, it was reported that the Vatican was investigating rumours of a sex party at St Mary's Cathedral.[8] In May 2023, it was concluded that "Allegations that lewd parties took place at St
Mary’s Cathedral during the pandemic are simply untrue."[6] However, there were gatherings for volunteers with wine and takeaways, in contravention to Covid regulations in place at that time.[6]
Robert Byrne - current bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
References
^Brady, W. Maziere (1876). The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, A.D. 1400 to 1875. Volume 3. Rome: Tipografia Della Pace. pp. 345–346.
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